Forest Park High School freshman Curt Hopf completes a dunk to cap a 10-0 run Friday night in the fourth quarter against visiting Jasper. The Rangers won, 59-45, and are 12-1 on the season.(Photo: Sarah Ann Jump / Dubois County Herald)

FERDINAND – It’s to the point now where the Forest Park High School student section can pick and choose when to break out a well-known chant.

Friday night, they saved it for the perfect time. Midway into the fourth quarter, Curt Hopf completed a fast break with a two-handed dunk to cap a 10-0 run against county rival Jasper. It essentially put the game on ice, and Ranger fans among a sellout crowd were quick to remind the visitors they had another three years of the 6-foot-7 forward – as if most didn’t already know.

"HE'S A FRESHMAN."

*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*

"HE’S A FRESHMAN."

Nobody is more thankful for that fact than Forest Park head coach Jeff Litherland.

Hopf has started since the season opener and has averaged 13.2 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game for one of the best squads in Class 2A. He's received interest from Big Ten Conference programs Indiana, Purdue and Nebraska as well as Evansville, where his brother, Clint, played from 2007-11.

The Hoosiers have inquired the most of the four, said Litherland, who has sixth-ranked Forest Park sitting at 12-1 overall (2-0 Pocket). To play at IU’s Assembly Hall is a fantasy of many kids growing up in Indiana, but it’s premature at this point and Litherland isn’t worried about Hopf letting it go to his head.

“He’s a very level-headed kid, works extremely hard,” the sixth-year coach said. “He’s humble, coachable, looks you in the eye. I’m glad he’s just a freshman.”

Hopf was sitting next to Litherland when he said that and cracked a smile. He knows his parents, Kevin and Angela, are more proud to hear that than if he can dunk a basketball.

The youngest of five brothers and sisters, Hopf has grown up in a farming family. Although it’s not his cup of tea, he isn’t beneath feeding the cows and cleaning out the trough – “all that good stuff,” he calls it – or trying to do whatever is asked of him around the house.

That’s translated to the hardwood. He’s not too good to save an official the trip by tracking down a ball that went out of bounds.

Hopf starts with four seniors – Sam Englert, Collin Hochgesang, Trever Zink and Daniel Lusk – on a team that is the reigning Sectional 40 champion and has won two of the last three conference titles. This isn’t his team nor doesn’t try to make it that way.

“It’s awesome,” Hopf said about starting with a veteran group. “I’m so glad to have the opportunity with the seniors. They guide me every step of the way. If I do something wrong, they make sure to tell me.

“It’s definitely a big help (having them transition me). It’s a team effort. Basketball is a team sport.”

Against 4A Jasper (5-5), Hopf played in first-half foul trouble but still finished with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and a block in 20 minutes.

He altered a few shots inside and out the 3-point arc. Even at 6-7, he was starting fast breaks and dribbling out of the Wildcats’ pressure. Hopf plays within himself, and that’s one reason Litherland believes the team has had respect of him since open gyms during the summer.

“The biggest thing, I think, is how the seniors have accepted Curt,” Litherland said. “We have six seniors and this has pretty much been their team. I was kind of worried in the offseason how they’d accept him because I knew he was probably going to be up on varsity.

“But then I knew I had nothing to worry about when our seniors were always wanting first pick to get Curt.”

The Rangers' only loss of the season came Jan. 5 at Class A No. 3 Barr-Reeve. They will receive a late-season addition when Noah Fleck, a starter last season, returns from an injury he suffered in football season.

“Being (12-1), it’s going to be hard to change the starting lineup. But it doesn’t matter who starts,” Litherland said. “When we’re playing well and have fans like this, it’s exciting and everyone just wants to be a part of it. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”